1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a program recording assist apparatus, more specifically, determining permission/inhibition of a program recording.
2. Related Background Art
Today, a recording medium for recording a television program and a recording and playback apparatus are diversified into various kinds.
The recording medium includes a hard disk drive (HDD), various kinds of removable disks (e.g., a digital versatile disk (DVD), a hard disk (HD), and a blue-ray disk (BD)), and a memory card.
The recording and playback apparatus includes various kinds of recorders and players corresponding to one or a plurality of aforementioned recording mediums. Further, some apparatuses implement functions of a recorder and a player by a personal computer (PC) and peripheral devices. Further, a television receiver can include a built-in HDD.
A user can select and use a desired type of recording medium according to a place of use, a type of recordable broadcast, and a recording and playback apparatus to be used. Further, the recording medium s are properly selected and used according to various conditions, such as image quality and sound quality at a playback time, a recording capacity, an edit function, a special playback function, compatibility between playback apparatuses, a price, and durability.
Furthermore, the recording and playback apparatuses are properly selected and used according to various conditions, e.g., an installed place, a recordable broadcast type, a recording medium to be used, image quality and sound quality at a playback time, a recording capacity, an edit function, a special playback function, and an interface with other video devices.
A need for copying a program from a recording medium (a recording medium A), in which the program is recorded from a program source, to another recording medium (a recording medium B) is also increasing owing to such a diversified use of a recording medium or a recording playback apparatus.
As for copying a broadcast program, many restrictions are imposed from a viewpoint of copyright protection.
A method for restricting the copying is roughly classified into following two methods, i.e., a first method and a second method.
In the first method, a program stream is encrypted and recorded in the recording medium A. The encrypted code is decoded to play back the program only in a case of playing back with the recording medium A. The program stream can be read from the recording medium A and recorded in another recording medium B. However, when a user tries to play back the program with the recording medium B, the apparatus is not able to decode the encrypted code, so that the program cannot be played back.
This method is used when a program is recorded in various kinds of removable disks.
As a variant of the first method, a recording and playback apparatus X encrypts and records a program stream in the recording medium A. The encrypted code can be decoded and the program stream can be played back only when the recording and playback apparatus X is used. The program stream can be read from the recording medium A and recorded in another recording medium B. However, since another playback apparatus Y cannot decode the encryption, the program recorded in the recording medium A or in the recording medium B cannot be played back by the playback apparatus Y. The recording and playback apparatus X can decode the encryptions of the program streams both in the recording medium A and the recording medium B and play back the program stream.
This method is used when a copy once program (a program which can be recorded only once) is recorded in HDD by a communication unit such as a local area network (LAN) or a universal serial bus (USB). Hereinafter, the copy once program is defined as a program which is broadcasted with a copy once attribute. In other words, the name, the copy once program, is not changed even after the program gets a copy never attribute at a time of recording.
The first method and its modification permit recording of the program stream stored in the recording medium A in another recording medium B as it is, but inhibits playing back the program with a playback apparatus except for a proper recording and playback apparatus. These methods are called “backup” from the recording medium A to the recording medium B.
In the second method, only a predetermined recording and playback apparatus X can read a program stream in the recording medium A, and in addition, deletes the program stream from the recording medium A after recording the program stream stored in the recording medium A in another recording medium B.
The second method is used when the copy once program is recorded from HDD to DVD by a communication unit, e.g., i.LINK (trademark) or iVDR (trademark).
Thus, the second method deletes the program stream from the recording medium A after recording the program stream stored in the recording medium A in another recording medium B. This method is called “move” from the recording medium A to the recording medium B.
Further, in a third method, the program stream stored in the recording medium A is recorded in another recording medium B, and there is no limitation as to a playback apparatus for playing back the recorded program in both the recording medium A and the recording medium B. Thus, the program can be played back in both the recording medium A and the recording medium B. The third method is called “copying” from the recording medium A to the recording medium B.
The copying and move have at least the following restrictions according to a copy control attribute of a program.
As for the copy once program, copying from the recording medium A to the recording medium B is inhibited and only move is permitted.
As for a copy free program (a program not having restriction of recording times), copying from the recording medium A to the recording medium B is permitted.
As for a copy never program (an unrecordable program), recording in the recording medium A itself is inhibited at a time of receiving broadcast.
As for a dubbing 10 program (a program which can be copied less than 10 times), copying after 10 times is inhibited when a number of copying time of the program reaches 9, and only move is permitted.
However, depending on the combination of a program, a recoding apparatus, and a recording medium, restrictions which are severer than the aforementioned restrictions are added.
Further, there are a number of recording mediums on which recording, copying, and move cannot be performed depending on a product specification of a recording apparatus or affinity between devices although the mediums are permitted to record, copy, and migrate on a specification.
Accordingly, since copying or move is complexly restricted depending on the combination of a copy control attribute of a program, a kind of a recording medium, and a recording and playback apparatus to be used, a user becomes so confused. Further, in future, as kinds of a recording medium and a recording apparatus increase or a specification relating to copy control is revised, controlling of copying and move is expected to be more complicated.
As for a conventional technique relating to the problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-50171 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-216130 discuss a technique for determining whether copying or move of a program recorded in the recording medium A to another recording medium B is permitted/inhibited according to a copy control attribute of the program, and displaying a recording medium capable of copying or move.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-216130 discusses a technique for determining whether recording of a program in a recording medium A is permitted/inhibited according to a copy control attribute of the program and a recording capacity, and displaying a recording medium capable of recording the program.
These conventional techniques are for determining whether copying or move of a program which is already recorded in a recording medium A, to a recording medium B is permitted/inhibited.
Therefore, the conventional techniques cannot previously prevent a mistake that the program is recorded in a recording medium A from which the program cannot be copied and moved to a recording medium B and thus cannot be played back with the recording medium B, although play-back of the program with a recording medium B is scheduled.